Improvement in pelting-machines



gtltitml Wertes-w RUDOLF ,EIQOKEMEYER Or YONKERs, ANew YORK, AssieNon TO JOHN T. WARING,

Letters Patent No. 87,763, dated March lili- 1.136,93

OF SAME PLACE.

" IMPROVEMENT IN FELTING-MAHINES Y The Schedule referred to invthese Lettere Patent and makingparr of the same.

To all whom. 'it muy concern:

,Be it kno'wn that I, RUDOLF EICKEMEYER, of Yonkers, in the county of Westchester, and State of New York, vhave invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machinery for Felting Felt Cloths; and I do hereby declare 'that the following is'a full and correct description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference thereon.

My said invention, .which lforms the subject ofthe present specification, consists in the arrangement and combination of an intermittently-moving'horizontal felting-cylinder, with an endless hardening-cloth, and a horizontal concave j iggering-apparatus, substantially as hereinafter described.

-In another specification, I have described a similar concave jiggering-apparatus, applied with a similar endless hardeningcloth to a cylindrical tuft-holder, in a machine organized for felting tufted fabrics, but that machine, not being suitable for felting plain cloths, by reason of the cylinder being perforated with holes to receive tufts, I have in this invention combined the concave jiggering-apparatus and hardening-cloth with a plain cylinder, in order to make a simpleand e'ective machine for felting plain cloths. The cylinder in this machine may, however, be engraved or embossed, so as to impress a ligure in relief upon one side of the cloth while the'felting is being carried on, if desired. v Figure 1,`of the drawings, represents a vertical longitudinal section of my improved machine.

Figure 2, a plan view, and

Figure 3, an end elevation of the same.

The side, frames a a1- of the machine are framed together by the cross-braces a aal The felting-cylinder b is mounted horizontally in fixed bearings b b2, in the side frames, and 4is' moved intermittently, in the direction indicated by the arrows,

by a pawl, c, `and ratchet-wheel c', the latter attached to the shaft of the felting-cylinder. l

'lbe felting-cylinder mayv'be of woodbut should preferably be made hollow, of iron, or other suitable l metal, and have hollow shafts, by which steam can be introduced within, for the purpose of warming it, if

. desired, as in calender-rollers. The surface s 1d be slightly scored or grooved circumferentially,to ho d the fabric, while felting, against the action of the jigger. The hardening-cloth d is an endless apron, or conductor, of'linen, canvas, or other suitable material for a hardening-cloth, extended over the Vdrums e e ezes e, the two drums, c' and e, being placed, one` each side of the felting-cylinder, in such manner as to wrap the portion of the hardening-cloth between them around the lowerhalf of the surface of the felting-cylinder, so

that whenthe felting-cylinder is moved, the hardeningcloth moves withit, and conducts the prepared fabric to and from thev felting-cylinder, holding it to the felting-cylinder while the jigger is in action.

The jiggering, or rubbing-plate, by which the felting is accomplished, is aconcave metal plate, f, which forms Vthe top plate of a steam-box, f. This concave plate connected, by flexible connecting-pipes, with a source of supply of steam, and a waste-water receptacle.

`This Ysteam-box, with its concave rubbing-surface, is placed immediately under the felting-cylinder, and that portion of tbefhardening-cloth in contact therewith, and receives a very short and exceedingly rapid motion from the eccentric-shaft g, which may be driven, as.` usual, by a rapid belt from a' separate counter-shaft overhead, running upon the. driving-pulley gl, and is connected with the steam-box f by two connectingrods g2 g3.

At each side of the jigger'ing steam-box are guides g4 g5, which constrain it to vibrate in a direction transverse to the cylinder, but do not interfere with its being moved toward and from'the felting-cylinder.

The steam-box and its concave jiggering-surface are moved up and down, and held against the hardeningcloth and felting-cylinder with a yielding-pressure, by mechanism, as follows, vip:

The steam-box is supported by four rockingcolumns,

two of which, h h, are connected by joints to lugs or 'projections from the lower part of a sliding plate, i,

. posite side frame in the same manner as the sliding plate i. The two vopposite sliding plates, fi and i2, are exactly alike, facing each other on opposite sides of theJachine, within -the side frames, and are each. "independently moved' up and down at the same time by means of cams k* k2, fast to the cam-shaft It, operating through Y two systems of weights and levers, one system for each sliding plate.

The two systems of weighted levers, being alike, a description of v011e only will be given-that which is in connection with the cam lt and thesliding plate fi.

4 This system of levers consists of a lever, lm, pivoted upon the cross-shaftm, and extending horizontally to the' cam 7c, being provided at the end with an antifriction roller, m, which runs on the cam k.

The lever m is linked, by a short link, m5, to the fulcrum-point of a lever, p, immediately above it, which lever is connected to the sliding plate i at one end, and is loaded with weights p at the other end. The arrangement and vproportions of the levers being as shown in the drawings, the cam lifts the sliding plate and its end of the steam-box by lifting the weighted lever p. When: the cam tur'ns, t0 'lower the sliding plate, the weighted lever p rests on the cross-shaft lmi, close by the Weights, and relieves the sliding plate and steam-box from the upward pressure due to the weights, permitting the steam-box to be lowered sufciently to allow thel felting-cylinder to be moved.

The rotatingcam-shaft k is driven by atrain of cogwheels from the driving-shaft q, upon which are the fast and loose pulleys q1 q2, as follows, viz:

A pinion, o, fast to the driving-shaft q, gears into a spur-wheel, lr, fast tothe intermediate rotating shaft 1i-which also carries a pinion, fr, which gears into the spur-Wheel 1, fast to the cam-shaft.' The exact proportions of these wheels are not material, as they are merely used to reduce the speed and increase the power 'from the light driving-belt. v

The paWl c, which moves -the felting-cylinder, is actuated by the lever s,to which it is connected", the lever being moved the proper distance by a wiper in the form of a set-screw, t,' screwed into the cam-shaft k.

llhe operation of the machine is asfollows.: t Q'.lhe prepared fabric, being fed upon the hardeningcloth continuously, is carried by it to the felting-cylinder, the latter having an intermittent progressive mo through the machine.

tion, and held to thesurface of the cylinder.v The cylinder being at rest, the vibrating concave jigger rises and presses against the under side of the hardening-cloth with a yielding pressure, being, at the same time, in rapid motion, and supplied with steam, affords the requisite motion, heat, moisture, and pressure to felt the fabric, or partially felt the fabrc'while in action, and the cylinder being moved the distance of only one tooth of the ratchet, or a very short distance at a time, the concave jigger repeats its action-upon the greater part of the fabric it had previously acted upon, thus progressively felting the fabric as it passes The fabric adheres to the felting-cylinder and hardening-cloth suiciently for the purpose of feeding, but,

should it be desired, a ratchet-feed can readily be at- 

